A story about helping orphan elephants recover and go back to the wild. From National Geographic. The VIDEO that goes with the story is brief but inspiring! See the photo gallery as well.UP-FRONT NEWS BLOGGING NUGGET!!
If you are someone who is looking to easily get news stories from this blog (or other sites) and read them from your iphone, Kindle, etc., CHECK THIS OUT! So far, I have not seen a compelling reason to get a Kindle for myself -- but this app called Instapaper may get me there.
The 50 Best Websites of 2011 from Time Magazine
"Instapaper offers nothing to read of its own. It just makes most of the stuff you read on the Web better. Click its "Read Later" button and you can save articles and other reading materials, and then peruse them at your leisure in beautifully reformatted versions that strip out ads and other distractions."
"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to give Iran the bomb to secure his legacy--but his domestic opponents don't want to see him succeed."
Saudi Arabia Moves to Take Down Syria, Iran and Hezbollah (Bruce Riedel) from the National Interest
"King Abdullah has made his move. If he succeeds, he'll best three enemies for the price of one."
Adios, OPEC: The Americas, Not the Middle East, Will Be the World Capital of Energy from Foreign Policy Magazine
"By the 2020s, the capital of energy will likely have shifted back to the Western Hemisphere, where it was prior to the ascendancy of Middle Eastern megasuppliers such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the 1960s."
Check out FPM's special issue itinerary on "the future".
'Devastating' Evidence Puts Murdochs Back in the Crosshairs (Adam Clark Estes) from the Atlantic
"New evidence in the News Corp. phone hacking scandal reveals a widespread cover-up that casts doubt on sworn testimonies from the company's most senior leadership."
Standard & Poor's Getting Heat for Downgrade Decision (George Zornick) from the Nation
"The SEC’s review is made possible by the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, which gave the agency expanded power to review the actions of rating agencies like Standard & Poor’s. The SEC cannot second-guess a rating decision outright, but can however make sure the issuing agency followed its own guidelines."
Crashing the Tea Party (David Campbell and Robert Putnam) from the New York Times
"...the Tea Party is increasingly swimming against the tide of public opinion: among most Americans, even before the furor over the debt limit, its brand was becoming toxic. ... It is even less popular than much maligned groups like “atheists” and “Muslims.” Interestingly, one group that approaches it in unpopularity is the Christian Right. ... why are its negatives so high? To find out, we need to examine what kinds of people actually support it."
Five Questions About Rick Perry: He’ll Face these Obstacles on his Way to the Nomination (Ramesh Ponnuru and Rich Lowry) from National Review
"He’s a down-the-line conservative with a no-holds-barred combativeness when both substantive purity and a hard-line affect are highly prized by the party’s grassroots. He must be taken seriously. Whether he gets the nomination will depend in part on these five questions:"
A fairly clear-eyed assessment from a conservative perspective.
First Thoughts: Did Perry Go Too Far? from MSNBC
"Those comments -- especially those regarding the Fed -- must be making some folks on Wall Street and in the GOP establishment very nervous right now. Bernanke, after all, was an original Bush appointee. The question becomes: Do Perry’s remarks disqualify him among some in the GOP establishment? Or is this where the Republican primary voters are right now?"
It will be interesting to see if the GOP establishment will really matter in the GOP's primary season. I suspect they will have surprisingly little influence over the process.
For further evidence, see this item:
GOP Establishment Blisters Rick Perry (Jed Lewison) from Daily Kos
"...anyone who has been paying attention knows that the Republican primary electorate doesn't give a flying f@#$ about whether their candidate meets Karl Rove's definition of presidential or whether the GOP's top funders will open their wallets to his campaign. In fact, I'd bet my bottom dollar this dustup will help Perry's campaign..."
Talk to Ryan? It'll Cost You from Politico
"The House Budget Committee chairman isn’t holding any face-to-face open-to-the-public town hall meetings during the recess, but like several of his colleagues he will speak only for residents willing to open their wallets."
Pay-per-view representatives? WOW!
Rick Perry Threatens to Secede from Heterosexuality (John Aravosis) from AmericaBlog
"As the subject of ongoing, and recently increasing, speculation that he's gay, you'd think Rick Perry wouldn't open the door to trafficking in unsubstantiated rumors about other presidential candidates. But you'd be wrong."
Pull Yourself Together, DC! Perrymania Is Overrated (Ed Kilgore) from the New Republic
"Looking beyond the Caucuses, the road ahead looks more daunting for Rick Perry than the hype surrounding his entry might suggest, while the overall state of the race continues to be perilous for Republicans hoping for an early consensus that would provide an extended opportunity for the GOP nominee to unite the party and focus on Barack Obama."
Bachmann’s Bad Civics (Andrew Pavelyev) from the Frum Forum
"I cannot understand how any conservative can watch her and not be appalled by Rep. Bachmann’s decidedly unconservative approach to governing. She ignores basic civics and doesn’t understand that our country is a representative republic rather than a direct democracy."
Looks like Darth Vader is in Town... Obama Draws Fire for Foreboding 'Bus Force One' (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"It has been called the Battle Bus from Mordor and likened to a police mortuary truck. But with its brutal black paint job and tinted windows, critics seem to have finally settled on what President Obama's million dollar campaign bus most closely resembles - Darth Vader's helmet."
Having seen the photos of this thing, one has to say 'guilty as charged'. WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS!? Whoever developed his '08 logo needs to be let loose on this bus.
BOOKS NUGGET!!
Three Reasons to Keep Physical Books (Margaret Atwood) from Big Think
"All of these things point out the fact that electronic storage is pretty fragile."
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